Did Greta Thunberg Lie About Riding 'Overcrowded Trains'? Rail Company Says She Rode First Class

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is only 16 but she has riled several world leaders Photo: AFP / Nicholas Kamm

No one can deny that 2019 has been quite the year for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year and climate activist Greta Thunberg. Five years ago, she was suffering from depression, she was lethargic and had stopped talking and eating. This eventually led to her being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Now, aside from the cover of Time Magazine, she has addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York and was also nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

This newfound fame has made her both a heroic icon to those who believe that the world will soon be unlivable due to anthropogenic global warming and a target to those who think she has been placed in her position by “handlers” looking to use her youthful appearance and her Asperger’s for political and financial gain.

She even drew the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump who suggested through Twitter that the overstressed teen “... work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"

Controversial conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is of the opinion that Thunberg is a politically motivated set-up and that her Asperger’s is a tool to make those who disagree with her views appear “mean-spirited”.

A Dec. 16 Chicago Tribune article by Rex Huppe quotes Limbaugh, “This is a tactic that the Democrats use. They will go out and purposely find disabled people, they will make of them prominent political figures…. they have put speech codes; they have enforced speech codes and behavioral codes on all of us. They have been slowly but surely taking away as much freedom as they can from the way we speak, from the way we behave, and even from the way we think. And they have gotten away with it because a lot of people are afraid to object to any of it."

Thunberg recently tweeted an image of herself sitting on the floor of a railroad car surrounded by bags and suitcases and captioned it “overcrowded trains through Germany.”

German railway company Deutsche Bahn quickly responded with an apology and released a statement that they “continue working hard on getting more trains, connections and seats.” They also thanked Thunberg for supporting the company’s battle against climate change and pointed out that the train she used had been running 100% on eco-friendly electricity.

The train company later retracted their apology and said Thunberg and her team had seats in first class. Thunberg brushed off the criticism and said she got a seat in first class only after four hours into her journey. She said she was not criticizing the company, saying, “Overcrowded trains is a great sign because it means the demand for train travel is high!”